Search for lepton flavor violating decays of a heavy neutral particle in p-pbar collisions at root(s)=1.8 TeV

We report on a search for a high mass, narrow width particle that decays directly to e+mu, e+tau, or mu+tau. We use approximately 110 pb^-1 of data collected with the Collider Detector at Fermilab from 1992 to 1995. No evidence of lepton flavor violating decays is found. Limits are set on the production and decay of sneutrinos with R-parity violating interactions.Comment: Figure 2 fixed. Reference 4 fixed. Minor changes to tex

Factors associated with teenage marital pregnancy among Bangladeshi women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Teenage pregnancy is a public health concern both in developed and developing world. In Bangladesh, most of the first pregnancies occur immediately after marriage, especially among teenagers. Although women aged 15-29 years are the most fertility contributing women in Bangladesh, studies are not yet conducted on teenage pregnancy within this group of women. In the current study, an attempt had been made to identify the factors affecting teenage marital pregnancy in women aged 15-29 years.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross sectional survey was carried out in 389 women, selected with a convenience sampling technique. Participants were selected on the basis of two criteria, such as married women and age within 15-29 years. We excluded women aged more than 29 years as we attempted to conduct study within high fertility contributing women and with the assumption that they may provide data subjected to relatively high level of recall bias as marital pregnancy may be a longer past event to them. In the analysis, we applied bi-variate and multi-variate logistic regression technique to find out odds ratio of teenage marital pregnancy.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Result revealed that 72.5% of the participants experienced first marital pregnancy during their teenage, with a mean age of 17.88 years (SD = 2.813). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that participants aged 20-24 years had higher likelihood (OR 1.971, 95% CI 1.132 to 3.434), whereas participants aged 25-29 years had lower likelihood (OR 0.054, 95% CI 0.016 to 0.190) of experiencing teenage marital pregnancy compared to participants aged 15-19 years. In addition, participants desired for >2 children had significant higher odds (OR 3.573, 95% CI 1.910 to 6.684) and participants born in urban area had significant lower odds (OR 0.458, 95% CI 0.228 to 0.919) for teenage marital pregnancy.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Based on the findings, we conclude that in order to reduce teenage marital pregnancy, consideration should be given on women's desired number of children and birth place so that women's desired number of children is limited to within two children, and that rural women get increased working and other related opportunities that may contribute in delaying teenage pregnancy.</p

Genetic Variants of Ehrlichia phagocytophila1, Rhode Island and Connecticut

Primers were used to amplify a 561-bp region of the 16S rRNA gene of Ehrlichia phagocytophila from Ixodes scapularis ticks and small mammals collected in Rhode Island and Connecticut. DNA sequences for all 50 E. phagocytophila-positive samples collected from 1996 through 1998 in southwestern Connecticut were identical to the sequence reported for E. phagocytophila DNA from confirmed human cases. In contrast, the sequences from 92 of 123 E. phagocytophila-positive Rhode Island samples collected from 1996 through 1999 included several variants differing by 1-2 nucleotides from that in the agent infecting humans. While 11.9% of 67 E. phagocytophila-positive ticks collected during 1997 in Rhode Island harbored ehrlichiae with sequences identical to that of the human agent, 79.1% had a variant sequence not previously described. The low incidence of human ehrlichiosis in Rhode Island may in part result from interference by these variant ehrlichiae with maintenance and transmission of the true agent of human disease

Redesign and commissioning of sexual health services in England – a qualitative study

Objectives Responsibility for the commissioning of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services transferred from the National Health Service to local authorities in England in 2013. This transfer prompted many local authorities to undertake new procurements of these SRH services. This study was undertaken to capture some of the lessons learnt in order to inform future commissioning and system redesign. Study design A qualitative study was carried out involving semi-structured interviews. Methods Interviews were conducted with 13 local authority sexual health commissioners in Yorkshire and the Humber from 11 interviews. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes from transcripts of the interviews with the 13 participants. Results Key themes identified were as follows: the challenge and complexity to those new to clinical commissioning; the prerequisites of robust infrastructural inputs to undertake the process, including technical expertise, a dependable project team, with clarity over the timescales and the budget; the requirement for good governance, stakeholder engagement and successful management of relationships with the latter; and the need to focus on the outcomes, aiming for value for money and improved system performance. Conclusions Several key issues emerged from our study that significantly influenced the outcome of the redesign and commissioning process for sexual health services. An adapted model of the Donabedian evaluation framework was developed to provide a tool to inform future system redesign. Our model helps identify the key determinants for successful redesign in this context which is essential to both mitigate potential risks and maximize the likelihood of successful outcomes. Our model may have wider applications

Effects of boundary conditions on magnetization switching in kinetic Ising models of nanoscale ferromagnets

Magnetization switching in highly anisotropic single-domain ferromagnets has been previously shown to be qualitatively described by the droplet theory of metastable decay and simulations of two-dimensional kinetic Ising systems with periodic boundary conditions. In this article we consider the effects of boundary conditions on the switching phenomena. A rich range of behaviors is predicted by droplet theory: the specific mechanism by which switching occurs depends on the structure of the boundary, the particle size, the temperature, and the strength of the applied field. The theory predicts the existence of a peak in the switching field as a function of system size in both systems with periodic boundary conditions and in systems with boundaries. The size of the peak is strongly dependent on the boundary effects. It is generally reduced by open boundary conditions, and in some cases it disappears if the boundaries are too favorable towards nucleation. However, we also demonstrate conditions under which the peak remains discernible. This peak arises as a purely dynamic effect and is not related to the possible existence of multiple domains. We illustrate the predictions of droplet theory by Monte Carlo simulations of two-dimensional Ising systems with various system shapes and boundary conditions.Comment: RevTex, 48 pages, 13 figure

Psychological and physiological effects of compassionate mind training: A pilot randomised controlled study

The development of the compassionate self, associated with practices such as slow and deeper breathing, compassionate voice tones and facial expressions and compassionate focusing is central to Compassion Focused Therapy. This study explores the impact of a two-week Compassionate Mind Training (CMT) program on emotional, self-evaluative and psychopathology measures and on heart rate variability (HRV). Participants (general population and college students) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: CMT (n=56) and Wait-List Control (n=37). Participants in the CMTcondition were instructed to practice CMT exercises during two weeks. Self-report measures of compassion, positive affect, fears of compassion, self-criticism, shame, depression, anxiety and stress, and HRV were collected at pre and post intervention in both conditions. Compared to the control group, the experimental group showed significant increases in positive emotions, associated with feeling relaxed and also safe and content, but not activated; and in self-compassion, compassion for others and compassion from others. There were significant reductions in shame, self-criticism, fears of compassion, and stress. Only the experimental group reported significant improvement in HRV. Developing awareness of the evolved nature and inherent difficulties of our minds allied with practicing CMT exercises has beneficial effects on participants' psychological and physiological well-being.N/

Building capacity for evidence informed decision making in public health: a case study of organizational change

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Core competencies for public health in Canada require proficiency in evidence informed decision making (EIDM). However, decision makers often lack access to information, many workers lack knowledge and skills to conduct systematic literature reviews, and public health settings typically lack infrastructure to support EIDM activities. This research was conducted to explore and describe critical factors and dynamics in the early implementation of one public health unit's strategic initiative to develop capacity to make EIDM standard practice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This qualitative case study was conducted in one public health unit in Ontario, Canada between 2008 and 2010. In-depth information was gathered from two sets of semi-structured interviews and focus groups (n = 27) with 70 members of the health unit, and through a review of 137 documents. Thematic analysis was used to code the key informant and document data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The critical factors and dynamics for building EIDM capacity at an organizational level included: clear vision and strong leadership, workforce and skills development, ability to access research (library services), fiscal investments, acquisition and development of technological resources, a knowledge management strategy, effective communication, a receptive organizational culture, and a focus on change management.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>With leadership, planning, commitment and substantial investments, a public health department has made significant progress, within the first two years of a 10-year initiative, towards achieving its goal of becoming an evidence informed decision making organization.</p

Epidemiology of Escherichia coli bacteraemia in England: results of an enhanced sentinel surveillance programme

Background: Escherichia coli causes over one third of the bacteraemia cases in England each year, and the incidence of these infections is increasing. Aim: To determine the underlying risk factors associated with E. coli bacteraemia. Methods: A three month enhanced sentinel surveillance study involving 35 National Health Service hospitals was undertaken in the winter of 2012/13 to collect risk factor information and further details on the underlying source of infection to augment data already collected by the English national surveillance programme. Antimicrobial susceptibility results for E. coli isolated from blood and urine were also collected. Findings: A total of 1,731 cases of E. coli bacteraemia were included. The urogenital tract was the most commonly reported source of infection (51.2% of cases) with prior treatment for a urinary tract infection being the largest independent effect associated with this infection source. Half of all patients had prior healthcare exposure in the month prior to the bacteraemia with antimicrobial therapy and urinary catheterisation being reported in one third and one fifth of these patients. Prior healthcare exposure was associated with a higher proportion of antibiotic non-susceptibility in the blood culture isolates (P=0.001). Conclusion: Analysis of risk factors suggests potential community and hospital-related interventions particularly better use of urinary catheters and improved antibiotic management of urinary tract infections. As part of the latter strategy, antibiotic resistance profiles need to be closely monitored to ensure treatment guidelines are up to date to limit inappropriate empiric therapy

Sexual attitudes, pattern of communication, and sexual behavior among unmarried out-of-school youth in China

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In recent years, more adolescents are engaging in premarital sex in China. However, only a limited number of studies have explored out-of-school youth's sexual attitudes and behaviors, critical for prevention intervention development.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using data from the baseline survey of a comprehensive sex education program that was conducted in a suburb of Shanghai in 2000–2002, this study describes sexual attitudes, patterns of communication on sexual matters, and premarital sexual behavior among 1,304 out-of-school youth. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the factors associated with youth's premarital sexual intercourse.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The majority (60%) of out-of-school youth held favorable attitudes towards premarital sex. Males were more likely to have favorable attitudes compared with females. Male youth generally did not communicate with either parent about sex, while one-third of female youth talked to their mothers about sexual matters. Both males and females chose their friends as the person with whom they were most likely to talk about sexual matters. About 18% of the youth reported having engaged in sexual intercourse. One-fifth of sexually active youth had always used a contraceptive method, and one-quarter had been pregnant (or had impregnated a partner). There were no gender differences in rate of premarital sex or frequency of contraceptive use. Multivariate analysis revealed that age, education, family structure, parent's discipline, attitudes towards premarital sex, pattern of communication and dating were significantly associated with youth premarital sex.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A substantial proportion of out-of-school youth engage in risky sexual behaviors. Prevention programs that empower communication and sexual negotiation skills, and promote condom use should be implemented for this vulnerable group.</p

Relationships, love and sexuality: what the Filipino teens think and feel

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In order to achieve a change among teens' sexual behavior, an important step is to improve our knowledge about their opinions concerning relationships, love and sexuality.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A questionnaire including topics on relationships, love and sexuality was distributed to a target population of 4,000 Filipino students from third year high school to third year college. Participants were obtained through multi-stage sampling of clusters of universities and schools. This paper concentrates on teens aged 13 to 18.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Students reported that they obtained information about love and sexuality mainly from friends. However, they valued parents' opinion more than friends'. They revealed few conversations with their parents on these topics. A majority of them would like to have more information, mainly about emotion-related topics. Almost half of respondents were not aware that condoms are not 100% effective in preventing STIs or pregnancies. More girls, compared to boys, were sensitive and opposed to several types of sexism. After adjusting for sex, age and institution, the belief of 100% condom effectiveness and the approval of pornography and sexism were associated with being sexually experienced.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There is room for further encouraging parents to talk more with their children about sexuality, specially aspects related to feelings and emotions in order to help them make better sexual choices. Indeed, teens wish to better communicate with their parents on these issues. Condoms are regarded as safer than what they really are by almost half of the participants of this study, and such incorrect knowledge seems to be associated with sexual initiation.</p